| AARP wants candidates to focus on health care
ST. PETERSBURG - Presidential candidates campaigning in Florida can expect persistent grilling about health insurance, prescription drugs and Social Security if AARP has its way. The lobbying group for older Americans announced Wednesday that it will stock every public campaign event in the state with vocal volunteers who will try to pin candidates down on health care reform and financial security for retirees. The moment is ripe, AARP "social impact" executive Nancy LeaMond said in a news conference. Polls show that Americans place a high priority on accessible, affordable health care, she said. And business groups are beginning to take the same view. The Business Roundtable, traditionally a Republican-tilting organization, will join AARP in trying to steer the public debate toward health care and retirement issues, as will the Service Employees International Union, usually aligned with Democrats.
Consumers Beware: Individual Health Plans Are Confusing
Today's Health Insurance Market Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2007--Consumers who purchase individual health insurance plans solely on the initial price they are quoted by a broker or via the internet could be hurting themselves financially and be missing out on important benefits they probably want, states Charles O'Neill, CEO of Avalon Healthcare. More than nine percent of all people insured buy individual plans and the numbers in Florida are increasing, O'Neill said. Avalon is Florida's newest statewide health plan selling individual and group consumer directed health insurance plans. "Buying health insurance is confusing and while products may look alike, most are not," O'Neill said. "As more Floridians purchase consumer directed health plans for themselves and their families, they need to become better educated about the products they are buying.
Report Finds Insurance Coverage Inadequate: Even Those Who Are ...
By Julius A. Karash, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Mar. 23--As state and national leaders wrestle with the plight of 47 million uninsured, a report released Thursday points to Americans who have insurance but still struggle with medical debt. "The Illusion of Coverage: How Health Insurance Fails People When They Get Sick" highlights the burdens imposed, often on low-income workers, who can run up extensive medical debt because of co-pays, coverage caps, confusing bills and other pitfalls. Those expenses often lead even those with insurance to avoid or postpone getting needed care, the report stated.
"Usually they had inadequate insurance because it was the only option offered to them or because it was the only option they could afford," stated the 71-page report released by The Access Project public interest group and Brandeis University.
Insurance sector revs up building internal control system
At the begging of this year, three people from Risk Management Department of Taiping Life Insurance Co., Ltd. came to Beijing specially for demonstrating a whole set of "internal control scoring and rating system" to the Personal Insurance Regulatory Department of China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC). Taiping Life Insurance developed the system particularly for the purpose of strengthening internal risk control and management, and this could be a reference for supervisors to manage the internal control of life insurance companies. It was just one year since CIRC began to practice Measures on Evaluation of Life Insurance Company Internal Controls (hereinafter referred to as Measures). It seems that the internal risk management and control of insurance companies is their own business.
HIPAA Allows Police Access to Alleged Crime Victims in Hospitals
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act allows hospitals to provide police with access to patients who are victims of alleged crimes, U.S. District Judge Tucker Melancon ruled on Friday, the AP/Dayton Daily News reports (AP/Dayton Daily News, 4/3). The HIPAA Federal Privacy Rule, implemented in 2003, allows health care providers to share patient medical records for the purposes of treatment and other "health care operations." Providers do not have to obtain written consent before they disclose medical records but are required to inform patients of their rights and make a "good-faith effort" to obtain written acknowledgment from patients that they have received the information. Providers must obtain consent from patients before they can disclose medical records in "nonroutine" cases (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/23/06).
Family copes after house fire
Rising from the ashes is sometimes easier said than done. The Mitchell family in the Riverview community plans to rise from the ashes after losing their home to fire. “We will survive," said Martha Mitchell. “The Lord is going to see us through." During a series of storms that passed through the area last Sunday, the Mitchell home located on Travis Road was struck by lightning and was consumed in flames. “We were in North Alabama on Sunday attending a birthday party," George Mitchell said. “Our daughter was at home when the lightning struck the trailer. She called so upset, but there was nothing we could do." Ironically, Mitchell works as a firefighter with the Dixonville Volunteer Fire Department, where he has been involved for the past two years.
Change pushed by insurers
A bill introduced in the state Senate calls for stripping the North Carolina insurance commissioner's authority to set rates on auto, homeowners and workers' compensation insurance.Under the measure, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand at the urging of the insurance industry, a Superior Court judge would rule on rate disputes after conducting a hearing. Currently, the insurance commissioner presides over such hearings and determines the maximum rates that insurers can charge.Joe Stewart, executive director of the Insurance Federation of North Carolina, which represents property and casualty insurers, argued that, as an elected official, the insurance commissioner is destined to be an "advocate for the consumer."But Insurance Commissioner Jim Long said that changing the system would lead to higher rates for consumers -- and that's why the industry is pushing for the measure.
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